Specialised Traction Rods Keep Locomotive Refurbishment Project on Track

Brooks Forgings has a diverse range of manufacturing capabilities that enables the production of fully bespoke components for many applications worldwide.  Throughout our extensive history, we have assisted many restoration projects requiring the resilience and aligned grain flow only found with forging processes.

The latest addition to our portfolio is the production of fully bespoke forged locomotive Traction Rods for a fleet refurbishment.  A total of 6 Traction Rods are required for each electric locomotive, a critical component connecting each wheel bogie assembly to the carriage to aid with stabilisation and alignment.

The traction rods are unique by design and many challenges were presented to and overcome by our experienced engineers. The head measures 100mm thick with an outer diameter of 189mm, a bored inner eye of 127mm diameter, and is angled at 4 degrees in relation to the main rod with extremely tight tolerances. The rod, 1965mm in length, features several reductions in diameter to accommodate two thread forms, starting at 53mm diameter and dropping down to 48mm for an M48 midpoint thread. This reduces further to an M36 thread at the end.

Special wooden packing cases were designed and produced to eliminate movement and evenly spread the weight load during transport. This is to ensure that the traction rods arrived with the end-user safely and undamaged. Brooks Forgings offer this service as standard for fully bespoke projects.